Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for NetApp Q3 Earnings

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) – Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for shares of NetApp in a research note issued on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the data storage provider will earn $1.64 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.66. The consensus estimate for NetApp’s current full-year earnings is $5.89 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for NetApp’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.79 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.15 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on NetApp from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on NetApp from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on NetApp from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on NetApp from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NetApp from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetApp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.07.

NetApp Stock Performance

NetApp stock opened at $125.16 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.31. NetApp has a one year low of $71.84 and a one year high of $135.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetApp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTAP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NetApp in the second quarter worth $281,093,000. Boston Partners increased its position in NetApp by 108.9% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,947,200 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $313,997,000 after buying an additional 1,536,339 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in NetApp by 4,687.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,068,694 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $93,874,000 after buying an additional 1,046,372 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in NetApp by 16.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,112,316 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $756,665,000 after buying an additional 1,024,626 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in NetApp by 1,230.3% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,007,591 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $107,359,000 after buying an additional 931,850 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In related news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.91, for a total transaction of $1,075,462.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 274,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,792,629.58. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.67, for a total value of $123,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,074.76. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,750 shares of company stock worth $3,255,778. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

NetApp Company Profile

NetApp, Inc provides cloud-led and data-centric services to manage and share data on-premises, and private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments, Hybrid Cloud and Public Could. The company offers intelligent data management software, such as NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Snapshot, NetApp SnapCenter Backup Management, NetApp SnapMirror Data Replication, NetApp SnapLock Data Compliance, and storage infrastructure solutions, including NetApp All-Flash FAS series, NetApp Fabric Attached Storage, NetApp E/EF series, and NetApp StorageGRID.